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title: "Jennifer Coleman Hesson | KnowJudges"
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# Jennifer Coleman Hesson

33rd District Court · District Judge

## Profile

- Court: 33rd District Court
- State: Michigan
- Role: District Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### videoconferencing

Scope: statewide

Michigan courts may determine the manner and extent of videoconferencing technology, subject to participant requests and suitability factors under MCR 2.407.

Evidence excerpt: courts may determine the manner and extent of the use of videoconferencing technology and may require participants to attend court proceedings by videoconferencing technology

[Michigan Court Rule 2.407, Videoconferencing](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-2-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2.htm?rhtocid=_2)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### remote access notice

Scope: statewide

If a Michigan proceeding will be held by videoconferencing technology, the court must provide reasonable notice of how to access it.

Evidence excerpt: If a proceeding will be held using videoconferencing technology, the court must provide reasonable notice of the way(s) to access that proceeding.

[Michigan Court Rule 2.407, Videoconferencing](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-2-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2.htm?rhtocid=_2)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### recording and broadcasting

Scope: statewide

Michigan prohibits photography, audio or video recording, broadcasting, or live streaming in a courtroom unless allowed by the presiding judge, subject to the separate media-coverage order.

Evidence excerpt: In a courtroom, no one may use a portable electronic device to take photographs or for audio or video recording, broadcasting, or live streaming unless that use is specifically allowed by the Judge presiding over that courtroom.

[Michigan Court Rule 8.115, Courthouse Decorum and Portable Electronic Devices](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-8-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8.htm?rhtocid=_25)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### device use

Scope: statewide

Michigan allows courtroom use of portable electronic devices for information retrieval, storage, internet access, and messaging, but requires silence and bars calls or other audible functions without court permission.

Evidence excerpt: Attorneys, parties, and members of the public may use a portable electronic device in a courtroom to retrieve or to store information (including notetaking), to access the Internet, and to send and receive text messages or information.

[Michigan Court Rule 8.115, Courthouse Decorum and Portable Electronic Devices](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-8-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8.htm?rhtocid=_25)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/api/directory/county/82)
- [Official roster](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/api/directory/county/82)
- [Michigan Courts official judicial roster](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/api/directory/county/82)
- [Michigan Court Rule 2.407, Videoconferencing](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-2-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2/Court_Rules_Chapter_2.htm?rhtocid=_2)
- [Michigan Court Rule 8.115, Courthouse Decorum and Portable Electronic Devices](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-8-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8.htm?rhtocid=_25)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Jennifer Coleman Hesson is an elected judge of Michigan’s 33rd District Court, serving since 2011, and has held leadership roles including Chief Judge Pro Tem and Presiding Judge of the Sobriety Court
- Appointed Chief Judge Pro Tem in 2012, then became Chief Judge of the 33rd District Court from 2014–2017 and again from 2022–2023
- She also held the role of house counsel at the 33rd District Court and as an arbitrator in civil cases
- She has also held the role of Presiding Judge of the 33rd District Sobriety Court and is active in the SUDDS (Stop Underage Drinking/Drugs Downriver) Coalition

### Education



### Additional information

- Before joining the bench, Hesson was a courtroom attorney for nearly 15 years
- handling thousands of criminal and civil cases in over 50 Michigan courts and U.S. District Courts.
- State-appointed judicial mentor to new judges
- She has held the role of a trustee of the Gibraltar School District Board of Education and was inducted into the Carlson Hall of Fame for community dedication
- Hesson is past president of the Wayne County District Judges’ Association and active in the Michigan District Judges Association, Downriver Bar Association, Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, and others.



## Published courtroom rules

### Shared court rules

- [Michigan Court Rule 8.115, Courthouse Decorum and Portable Electronic Devices](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-2f4be1384a246c5cc0b6bc97) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim.  Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-8-responsive-html5.zip/Court_Rules_Book_Ch_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8/Court_Rules_Chapter_8.htm?rhtocid=_25). Collected 2026-07-26.
